The observing teacher often says “Can I add something to that?” during a lesson. It’s a quick interruption to repeat, highlight or state something in a different way based on observing the students needs. It can also often be to bring students attention to the “meta” component of math or learning.
The second most important phrase we use is by the teacher leading the lesson or small group. It is “do you have another way to explain this?”.
Having two teachers in our class has by far let me grow more as a teacher than any other professional development activity I have ever participated in. It has also, hands-down, been the best initiative to support improved student success in math that I have seen. Students see more ways of solving problems. More teaching strategies. More assessment strategies. More attention in general. More support when needed. They also see teachers learning from each other every single day. We often have conversations in front of our students that start with “REALLY? I had no idea!”. Or, ” I had never thought of that”.
Every so often students get confused when we’ve each told them conflicting instructions without realizing it, but we can always solve that with a laugh and some humor.
]]>Unlike most teachers, I’ve personally had many opportunities to co-teach, co-plan and observe others teach. After only a week, I am already realizing how it is even richer to watch how YOUR students respond, behave and learn during lessons. The ability to step back in your own classroom and observe students is something we rarely have the opportunity to do. After only a few days, I feel as though I already have a better handle on my students and their needs than I would have after a month of teaching on my own.
We always talk about providing students with ongoing, timely feedback, and yet as teachers we rarely get feedback on our work. When you work to continuously co-plan and co-teach with another teacher the professional dialogue is integrated into your day. The 5-10 minute check in before school starts, the time during our prep period, the quick check-in over lunch hour and then the 10 minutes after class. This immediate dialogue and feedback is authentic, focused on student learning and never obscured by any feeling of assessment or evaluation. We’re in it together. The discussion is simply on what we can do to improve student learning.
In both the grade 9 math classes we are building in a method for timely, descriptive feedback for students as well. With two teachers in the room, one can spend the time each day to conference with each student who struggled with yesterdays concepts. The goal being to ensure students never get further than that one concept behind. While all teachers try this, in a busy class, it often becomes impossible. We easily are able to do that when co-teaching.
I have never been more excited to teach. I have a whole host of crazy things I want to try with my grade 9 applied mathematics class including;
With a full class of 24 students and 12 of these students with individual education plans, I was very worried about my ability to try these new things in addition to providing enough opportunities and entry points for all students in the class to access the content. Having two teachers in the room and the embedded professional support this provides has given me the confidence to try many new things in one semester.
What a great opportunity! Have you ever had the opportunity to co-teach an entire semester or extended period of time? If so, do you have any tips and tricks to provide for us?
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